Some of the greatest teachings from Jesus were in response to questions that were intended to trap Him. This particular day was no exception. The Sanhedrin had already put forth the Herodians and the Sadducees, both of whom had failed miserably in trapping Jesus. So they sent out a lawyer – an expert in religious law.

As 2024 approaches and begins, many of us are taking time to revisit our priorities for the new year. It is often a time when we make new resolutions and new – or renewed – commitments. It can also be a time when we decide to take action on those things we’ve been putting off.

For the past several weeks, we have all been celebrating the advent of the Baby in the manger. But today, let’s fast forward about twenty-nine years. At some point during the intervening years, Joseph died. Jesus assumed the role of the oldest son and carried forward the family carpentry trade, while caring for His mother and his younger half-siblings. However, the time had now come according to His Heavenly Father’s timetable for Him to step out from obscurity . . . and Jesus would not delay.

This week i am posting the last of my four stories for the season of Advent about the incarnational birth of Jesus. My hope is that the stories become a part of your Advent tradition as you remember and celebrate the Good News of the advent of our Lord and Savior.

Each of the four stories is an adolescent’s eyewitness account of the circumstances surrounding the advent of Jesus. The last three eyewitnesses are fictional and represent the many who would have been present at the advent of Jesus, but are not named in Scripture. Though some of the characters and details contained in each story are fictional, you will find that the truth they reveal is very REAL!

To that end, this week we will hear from Ashriel, the great-grandson of Simeon.

As you will recall, i am posting a weekly story for the season of Advent about the incarnational birth of Jesus. My hope is that the stories become a part of your Advent tradition as you remember and celebrate the Good News of the advent of our Lord and Savior. 

Each of the four stories is an adolescent’s eyewitness account of the circumstances surrounding the advent of Jesus. The last three eyewitnesses are fictional and represent the many who would have been present at the advent of Jesus, but are not named in Scripture. Though some of the characters and details contained in each story are fictional, you will find that the truth they reveal is very REAL!  

To that end, this week we will hear from Yanzu, a young servant who accompanied the magi.

i am posting a weekly story for the season of Advent about the incarnational birth of Jesus. My hope is that the stories become a part of your Advent tradition as you remember and celebrate the Good News of the advent of our Lord and Savior.

Each of the four stories is an adolescent’s eyewitness account of the circumstances surrounding the advent of Jesus. The last three eyewitnesses are fictional and represent the many who would have been present at the advent of Jesus, but are not named in Scripture. Though some of the characters and details contained in each story are fictional, you will find that the truth they reveal is very REAL!

Those of you who have subscribed to this podcast for more than a year know that it is my annual practice to post a weekly story for the season of Advent about the incarnational birth of Jesus. My hope is that the stories become a part of your Advent tradition as you remember and celebrate the Good News of the advent of our Lord and Savior.

Thursday, November 23rd, is Thanksgiving Day here in the U.S. Our Canadian friends celebrated Thanksgiving on October 9th, and our friends in the U.K. celebrated Harvest Festival on October 1st. Regardless of the date on the calendar, we all typically celebrate the day with good food, good fun, and a special time with family and friends. Hopefully in the midst of all the festivities, we make time to be thankful.

One day in the wilderness, the Lord said to Moses, “Make two trumpets of beaten silver.”(1) The trumpets were to be used for summoning and signaling, as an alarm and a reminder, as an announcement of celebratory gladness and reverent rejoicing. But most of all, the trumpets were to serve as a reminder to the Lord of His covenant with His people. It is interesting to me that these trumpets were forged and formed in the wilderness. They were not brought from Egypt. They would have purpose in the wilderness and they would have a continuing purpose in the Promised Land.

How quickly we too forget—that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God who turned the bitter waters sweet, is the same God who has promised to never leave us nor forsake us. He is the same God who has promised to make our way straight and sure. He has ordered our steps before us and made a way in the wilderness. We can walk in His assurance that nothing can enter into our way that He has not permitted. And if He has permitted it, He has done so with the assurance that He will use it for His glory and for our good. There is nothing too minor and there is nothing too big.

The religious events on the Day of Pentecost were disturbed in the quarter of Jerusalem closest to the Temple by the sounds emanating from an upper room. A crowd made up of Jews from many nations assembled to investigate the cause of the disturbance. As they stood there looking up, they heard their own languages being spoken by a group they quickly recognized to be uneducated Galileans.